Department of Microbiological Surveillance and Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2012 Jul;18(7):619-25. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2012.03829.x. Epub 2012 Apr 4.
Enterococci are commensal bacteria in the intestines of humans and animals, but also cause infections in humans. Most often, Enterococcus faecium isolates from clinical outbreaks belong to different types than E. faecium from animals, food, and humans in the community. The same variants of the vanA gene cluster (Tn1546) encoding vancomycin resistance can be detected in enterococci of both human and animal origin. This could indicate horizontal transfer of Tn1546 between enterococci of different origin. E. faecium isolates of animal origin might not constitute a human hazard in themselves, but they could act as donors of antimicrobial resistance genes for other pathogenic enterococci. Enterococcus faecalis of animal origin seems to be a human hazard, as the same types can be detected in E. faecalis from animals, meat, faecal samples from humans in the community, and patients with bloodstream infections.
肠球菌是人类和动物肠道中的共生菌，但也会引起人类感染。大多数情况下，来自临床爆发的粪肠球菌分离株属于不同类型，而不是来自动物、食物和社区人群中的粪肠球菌。可在人类和动物来源的肠球菌中检测到编码万古霉素耐药性的相同变体的 vanA 基因簇（Tn1546）。这表明 Tn1546 在不同来源的肠球菌之间发生了水平转移。动物来源的粪肠球菌本身可能不会构成人类危害，但它们可能会作为其他致病性肠球菌的抗菌药物耐药基因的供体。动物来源的屎肠球菌似乎对人类构成危害，因为可以在来自动物、肉类、社区人群粪便样本和血流感染患者的屎肠球菌中检测到相同的类型。
